HSBC has won its court fight with the European Union over a fine for rigging an inter-bank rate.
HSBC successfully contested its €34 million (£29 million) fine for rigging Euribor — the daily rate used by European banks to lend to each other.
Judges at the EU’s General Court said that while the bank participated in the rigging, there was insufficient evidence as to how the fine was calculated.
The decision is a victory for HSBC which with six other banks was fined by EU anti-trust regulators three years ago.
In 2016 HSBC, Credit Agricole and JPMorgan were penalised €485 million by the European Commission. JPMorgan’s appeal of its much larger fine and Credit Agricole’s challenge are both still pending.
The other three, Deutsche Bank, RBS and Société Générale admitted wrongdoing at the time in return for lower fines.
HSBC’s fine was the smallest as it took part in the cartel for just a month. The European Commission said the cartel colluded between September 2005 and May 2008 to manipulate the Euribor interest rate, which is set using quotes from a panel of banks and used to determine how trillions of euros are dispensed for mortgages and loans.
